Across the Pacific

Director: John Huston John Huston

Overview

A lively espionage drama that reunited the stars and director of the previous year's The Maltese Falcon, Across the Pacific was originally envisioned as the story of a Japanese invasion of Hawaii. Real-life events of December of 1941, however, precluded such a scenario and the location was changed to the Panama Canal. For reasons known only to Warner Bros., the title was retained despite the fact that none of the action takes place in the Pacific. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick Leland, a disgraced ex-army man, who, after being turned down by the Canadian military, jumps a Japanese steamer bound for the Panama Canal Zone. Also onboard are Alberta Marlow (Mary Astor), a small-town girl claiming to be en route to Los Angeles; Dr. Lorenz (Sydney Greenstreet), a corpulent sociologist with a suspiciously friendly regard for all things Japanese; and Joe Totsuiko (Victor Sen Yung), a happy-go-lucky second generation Japanese-American on his way to visit the old country. But no one is exactly who he or she claims to be and the voyage from Halifax via New York City to Panama becomes a matter of life and death for the passengers in general, and for the future of the United States in particular. Director John Huston was forced to leave the film three weeks into the four-week shooting schedule when summoned to report to the Department of Special Services. According to Huston, he purposefully placed Humphrey Bogart's character in a highly precarious situation and left it up to his replacement, Vincent Sherman, to come up with the solution -- which Sherman did in an especially fiery climax.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/08/2018
UPC:	0888574655785
Original Release:	1942
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	1:36:00
Sales rank:	492

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Humphrey Bogart	Rick Leland
Mary Astor	Alberta Marlow
Sydney Greenstreet	Dr. Lorenz
Charles Halton	A.V. Smith
Sen Yung	Joe Totsuiko
Roland Got	Sugi
Lee Tung Foo	Sam Wing On
Frank Wilcox	Capt. Morrison
Lester Matthews	Canadian Major
Tom Stevenson	Unidentified Man
Roland Drew	Capt. Harkness
Monte Blue	Dan Morton
Chester Gan	Capt. Higoto
Richard Loo	First Officer Miyuma
Keye Luke	Steamship Office Clerk
Kam Tong	T. Oki
Spencer Chan	Chief Engineer Mitsuko
Rudy Robles	A Filipino Assassin
Frank Faylen	Sidewalk Toy Vendor
William Hopper	Orderly
Philip Ahn	Man in Theatre
Dick Botiller	Waiter
Ralph Brooks	Officer at Court Martial
Tom D'Andrea	Toy Seller
Gordon DeMain	Dock Official
Eddie Dew	Unidentified Man
Charles Drake	Officer
Ruth Ford	Secretary
Paul Fung	Japanese Radio Operator
Jester Hairston	Passerby
James B. Leong	Nura
Frank Mayo	Trial Judge Advocate
Jack Mower	Major
Cyril Ring	Canadian Officer
Ray Spiker	Subway Conductor
Adolph Deutsch	Composer

Technical Credits

Richard Macaulay

John Huston	Director
Richard Macaulay	Screenwriter
Jerry Wald	Producer
Jack Saper	Producer
Everett Brown	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Although certainly not of the caliber of The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Casablanca (1942), Across the Pacific remains a fine piece of slam-bang entertainment, Warner Bros.-style. Not that the drama makes that much sense, but the film is so skillfully acted and directed that such complaints become academic. Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet appear exactly as you have come to expect -- which is as it should be -- but the key character here is Victor Sen Yung's Joe Totsuiko, one of the era's most treacherous villains. A second-generation immigrant seemingly full of vim and vigor, Totsuiko actually personifies the fate of most Japanese-Americans, who were actively rounded up and interned as filming of Across the Pacific progressed. (According to Mary Astor, Warner Bros. was forced to endlessly replace Japanese actors and crew members as they were rounded up by the U.S. government, but in reality, most of the original supporting players were either of Chinese or Korean origin.) Audiences in 1942, however, were thus told never to trust the Totsuikos of this world, never mind how all-American they may seem, a regrettable sentiment, but perhaps understandable under the circumstances. Writer Richard Macauley based his screenplay on Robert Garson's serialized magazine story Aloha Means Goodbye, but the snappy repartee between Bogart and a very funny Miss Astor is all Macauley and adds tremendously to Across the Pacific's entertainment value. As does Byron Haskin and William Van Enger's special effects and cinematographer Arthur Edeson's fluid camera.

All Movie Guide - Hans J. Wollstein